As the firm continues to grow, expand, and include new leadership we’re excited to feature Associate Robbie Wright so you can get to know why we think he’s extraordinary…Read More
Abigail Kirsten has joined RMC Architects (RMC) as a Design Professional. She received a Master of Architecture from Washington State University this year and Bachelor of Arts degrees in both art and mathematics from Gonzaga University in 2020. Abigail has been interested in architecture since she was ten years old and combines her three degrees...Read More
As the firm continues to grow, expand, and include new leadership we’re excited to feature Associate Lexie Costic so you can get to know why we think she’s extraordinary…Read More
We are thrilled to announce that our client, Bellingham Housing Authority (BHA), has received an Award of Merit for Samish Commons from the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment (NAHRO). The award recognizes achievement and innovation in housing and community development. Submitted under the Project Design for Affordable Housing category, the award focuses primarily on...Read More
Designing affordable housing is not only a major focus of RMC’s work, but one of our passions as well. We believe everyone deserves an uplifting, welcoming place to call home…Read More
On our website Home page, you can find our mission statement: We believe architecture should be a celebration of its unique setting—reflecting the values, culture, history, geography, and diversity of people and place. In this way, architecture strengthens community. We take this to heart. Excellent design is a right, not a privilege and can promote equity...Read More
We are pleased to announce the promotions of Lexie Costic AIA; David Heck AIA, LEED AP BD+C; and Robert Wright AIA, LEED AP to Associates. For their versatility in design; their inclusive approach to managing projects; their responsiveness to our clients, and the high quality of their work and ethics we are thrilled to make...Read More
Sara Vernia has joined RMC Architects (RMC) as a Design Professional. Sara received a Master of Architecture from the University of Oregon in 2012 and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 2003 from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She believes her previous background in civil engineering enhances her work in architecture today by...Read More
Kelsey Gates has joined RMC Architects (RMC) as a Project Manager. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture in 2011 from the University of Washington (UW). Kelsey’s Bellingham roots, along with time spent in Seattle while at the UW has given her a deep understanding of both the local community and the region. She...Read More
We are thrilled to receive two awards from the AIA (American Institute of Architects) Northwest Washington Chapter this year! Samish Commons won the Honor Award and the Owl’s Nest received a Merit Award. With the ultimate goal of raising the standards of architectural design excellence, the AIA NWW Design Awards acknowledge “the finest standards in...Read More
“Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life.” John Muir If you’ve been hanging around construction sites or chatting with almost anyone in the building industry these days, you’ve probably seen and/or heard of mass timber. But why has wood—a product that’s been around for centuries—become...Read More
RMC Architects is proud to announce a new milestone with the promotion of Jason Williard AIA, LEED AP to Principal. As we plan for a successful future, we recognize the importance of ushering in a new generation of leadership. To celebrate this monumental occasion, we gathered words and phrases from other RMC Principals that best...Read More
Ellie Cuthrell has joined RMC Architects (RMC) as a Design Professional. Ellie received a Bachelor of Architecture in 2022 from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She also minored in Computer Science. Ellie is currently working on State Street Creamery in Bellingham, WA for RMC. The project is a multifamily/commercial site capacity study for 98...Read More
All great artists draw from the same resource: the human heart, which tells us that we are all more alike than we are unalike. – Maya Angelou We are honored to feature the work of local artist Fishboy this year. In this festive season we celebrate and appreciate the beauty of our natural surroundings; the creative...Read More
When we approach our projects, we consider culture, history, climate, geography, topography, and the variety of ways people will experience these spaces once they are complete. Our project for the Port of Friday Harbor, Spring Street Landing is a wonderful example of how building design adapts to place, rather than the other way around. The...Read More
Wishing you limitless joy in 2022. Thanks to our clients, colleagues, and friends who make every year spectacular. 34 Completed projects 56 New projects 13 New clients 43 Repeat client projects 2 Promotions 16 Grateful staffRead More
The AIA NWW Design Awards acknowledge “the finest standards in sustainability, innovation, inclusion, building performance, and overall integration with client and surrounding community.” Two of our projects were recognized for excellence in architecture and planning: Spring Street Landing at the Port of Friday Harbor and the Housing Authority of Skagit County’s Seasonal Farmworker Housing. Congratulations...Read More
Christopher Mead AIA, LEED AP to Associate. Since joining RMC in 2005, Chris has distinguished himself as an approachable and trusted project leader and mentor. He has worked on a variety of project types for the firm, including the recently completed Multicultural Center at Western Washington University (WWU) – a collaborative project with Opsis Architecture....Read More
Old Town Although adjunct to downtown Bellingham, Old Town has always had its own identity. Historical buildings, industrial lineage, and the natural setting between land and water give it a diamond in the rough sensibility that provides myriad opportunities for developing the Parberry site—a seven-acre brownfield zoned for commercial, light industrial, and residential. Thriving businesses...Read More
Earlier this week, Jeff McClure and Bellingham Housing Authority’s Brien Thane gave Bellingham City Council’s Planning & Community Development Committee an update on progress at Samish Commons, the $78 million redevelopment of the condemned Aloha motel on Samish Way that the city bought in 2015. Since then, Bellingham Housing Authority was selected to develop the...Read More
In January, “breathe” was a reminder to pause for perspective. We were moving at breakneck pace, struggling to keep up and wondering how best to navigate through to 2021— all against the backdrop of what was sure to be an intense election year. In July, “breathe” is a reminder that people all around us are...Read More
RMC Architects, in collaboration with social psychologist Dr. Kristi Lemm, Professor of Psychology at Western Washington University, is exploring how architecture and urban planning can strengthen social ties through our Front Porch Factor (FPF) initiative. We are developing a framework to help gauge and inform how projects can strengthen social cohesion — by creating spaces...Read More
“What are you, nuts?” might be the first reaction to the idea of ending single-family zoning, but it shouldn’t be the last. Density, when it’s done well, can create popular, stable neighborhoods characterized by an array of mixed-income housing options, along with inviting pedestrian-oriented living, an enhanced sense of identity and belonging, and strong social...Read More
Last January during a bitter cold snap, we told you about the opening of The Ground Floor, the Northwest Youth Services (NWYS) day shelter located at First Congregational Church in Bellingham. The 3,500-square-foot space was an especially welcome and warm new space for unsheltered youth that chilly day. “It’s become a very relational and safe...Read More
Jesse Fawcett is recent architecture school graduate of Alfred State (New York) who brings excellent graphic skills and a keen desire to learn the profession. He found Bellingham by exploring the Pacific Northwest through frequent visits over the years. Bellingham really clicked for me as the perfect place to start my next chapter. I came...Read More
What makes a great outdoor space depends, of course, on its purpose and context. Most broadly, an outdoor space at home often emphasizes privacy, whereas public outdoor spaces focus on fostering interaction, often with smaller retreat areas. Western Washington University’s Red Square is an example of a public outdoor space that serves as a “mixer”...Read More
We’ll admit to some misty feelings about ports, especially when it comes to the waterfront. It’s something about the travel and trade that ports represent — the far-flung locations reached by slow boats, the fishing and the ferries, the cool marine air and the tidy red and white Coast Guard buildings … It all adds...Read More
We swear these people are not audience plants. But we sure like what they said, especially since they represented the general mood of the York and Sehome neighborhood meeting Wednesday evening this week where Bellingham-Whatcom Housing Authority and RMC unveiled the design of Phase 1 of the Samish Way Redevelopment project. Better known as the...Read More
RMC was chosen as a 2018 Sustainability Champion by local nonprofit Sustainable Connections as one of the pioneers in our local economy that have done outstanding work to make Whatcom one of the best places to live, work, and play. Read more about why Sustainable Connections chose us, here! Read More
From church basement to full-service day shelter for youth, the transformation of The Ground Floor at First Congregational is complete. While winter weather foiled the Saturday evening public appearance of keynote speaker Ryan Berg, a New York City youth worker and author of No House to Call my Home, a ribbon cutting commenced on Sunday...Read More
We know neither rain nor sleet nor lack of parking will stop you from coming downtown this festive season. How could it? Not with all there is to do and enjoy, whether you’re here for a Charlie Brown Christmas at BAAY or magic at the Mt. Baker Theatre; shopping local (maybe at Ormalulu, the Bellingham...Read More
The second annual Housing Week concluded last week, an event-filled four days that left us feeling optimistically realistic. But before we get to that, please join us in congratulating Lexie Costic, AIA, who became a licensed architect in Washington state earlier this year; now 70 percent of RMC’s design professionals are registered architects. Lexie joined RMC...Read More
Are you as excited as we are about the possibility of transforming the old JCPenney building on Cornwall—which has sat more or less empty since 1988 — into a mix of stores, offices and apartments that will bring new activity and life to this key block? After a public hearing September 24, the council is...Read More
Habitat for Humanity and The Kulshan Community Land Trust broke ground in more ways than one last month when they began Phase 1 of their collaborative effort to bring 54 permanently affordable townhomes to Bellingham. Telegraph Townhomes marks the launch of the Threshold Fund, an innovative financing tool that reduces the cost of building affordable...Read More
If you’ve driven down State Street recently and wondered what the construction project across from the Herald Building is all about, wonder no more: 22 North will offer 40 studio apartments to adults experiencing homelessness, thanks to of a collaboration between Northwest Youth Services (NWYS) and Opportunity Council. As our community continues to grapple with...Read More
RMC recently finished work on the expansion of Social Fabric, which is living up to its brilliant name with an engaging mashup of sewing groups and classes, textile art, shopping and creative window displays to a key downtown corner. Located on Commercial Street in the Parkade building, it’s just one of several Bellingham venues designed...Read More
Enter Unity Care Northwest. Part of a national network of community health centers established in 1965 with bipartisan support, it has provided healthcare to anyone in Whatcom County who needs it, regardless of income or insurance, for more than 30 years. Since 2008, its patient population has increased by 74%. Last year, amid the uncertainty...Read More
Friday afternoon design challenge: Make you vanish. Banish the ugly, tame the tangle! Show the world what’s possible, architects; do that problem-solving thing! Judges focus, scrutinize, discerning daring acts of innovation and technical perfection. Attention to detail counts. Zip ties allowed. Extra points for overcoming adverse conditions. Everyone gets a ribbon for participating, just like soccer....Read More
The answer lies in the question itself: they’re neighborhoods, which by definition holds both spatial and social qualities. While physical boundaries define it on a map, we would argue that a neighborhood’s degree of social capital — its networks of relationships that foster “neighboring behavior”— is what makes it relatively stronger or weaker. (While this...Read More
In 2014 RMC, along with environmental consulting firm Maul, Foster, Alongi, was engaged by the Port of Skagit County to analyze the campus of the Northern State Hospital in Sedro Woolley, WA for redevelopment. Built in the Cascade foothills starting in 1911 on more than 1,000 acres, the campus is one of the largest single...Read More
Campus buildings come with tall orders: they must support teaching and inspire learning, attract faculty and invite students, meet or beat operational and sustainability goals, satisfy public budget constraints, gratify private donor desires. They must speak to the future, and stand the test of time. Meanwhile, technology marches on, instructional models evolve, and students educators...Read More
And that’s not just our Irish talking.* It’s a fact that keeps cropping up in urban planning and economic develoment circles (may the ever intersect): craft breweries, and their pubs, are a key indicator of a successful city. We’re excited about the county’s newest kid on the beer block, Overflow Taps in Lynden. It’s one...Read More
The Commercial Street Night Markets were fantastic. Thanks Sustainable Connections and KAPOW place-making competition (Principal Neil McCarthy was a juror.) Design improvement ideas for landscaping, wayfinding, Commercial St. Plaza and more thanks to the City and the Downtown Bellingham Partnership’s design committee (members include RMC’s Nicole Staron). Enticing holiday window displays coming your way thanks...Read More
